Study reveals almost complete Ron Paul media blackout in Florida

Ron Paul appeared in Florida print-based media much less often than the other GOP candidates. (Melina Mara/The Associated Press)

The low numbers Ron Paul chalked up in Florida weren’t limited to votes.

He got 7 percent of the vote in last Saturday’s Republican presidential primary, which was good for a distant fourth place finish. But Paul’s vote total was surprisingly high considering this fact: There was an almost-complete Ron Paul blackout in the Florida media.

Of the four candidates for the GOP nomination, Paul received less than one-twentieth the coverage of the fellow losers Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in Florida print-based publications, according to a study by HighBeam Research.

In the week leading up to the state’s Jan. 31 primary, Paul appeared in less than 1 percent of all Florida print-based media coverage, the study found. Mitt Romney received 60 percent of the attention, while Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum each had 20 percent.

Paul raised his white flag early in the Sunshine State, deciding not to compete in the winner-take-all competition and spending most of the pre-primary week in Maine and Nevada.